Staff Pick

Having lost both her parents, and subsequently her beloved uncle, 10-year-old Gemma Hardy is left with her uncle's wife. Her aunt despises Gemma and wastes no time dispatching her off to boarding school, where room and board are exchanged for nonstop backbreaking work. Education is an afterthought, but Gemma is a bright and earnest girl. After eight long years, she has worked hard and begrudgingly earns the respect of the school director. When the school abruptly closes, Gemma realizes she is soon to be homeless and penniless. Answering a desperate ad for a nanny on the isolated Orkney Islands, Gemma hopes to find — finally — the home and security she has never known.

Sound familiar? Livesey does a great job with this homage to Jane Eyre — so much so that I often forgot that Gemma Hardy lived in 1966 and not in 1850, until things like trousers on women, nail polish, and Scrabble intruded. Like Jane, Gemma is a serious and intellectual woman who falls in love with her employer, Hugh Sinclair (Livesey's stand-in for Mr. Rochester). There is no mad woman in the attic, but Gemma does have her own demons who threaten her happiness. Hugh Sinclair also has ghosts from his past, and Gemma finds herself unable to accept them. Taking flight, she disappears — leaving her newfound home, security, and love in her wake. Desperate to find some sense of family and her own history, Gemma realizes she is willing to lie, and worse: take on the exact same characteristics she finds intolerable in Sinclair.

Touching on the histories of both Iceland and Scotland, with charming folktales and sometimes heartbreaking historical stories, Livesey writes a detailed and layered tale of loneliness, determination, self-discovery, and love. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

The resonant story of a young womans struggle to take charge of her own future, The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a modern take on a classic story—Charlotte Brontës Jane Eyre—that will fascinate readers of the Gothic original and fans of modern literary fiction alike, with its lyrical prose, robust characters, and abundant compassion. Set in early 1960s Scotland, this breakout novel from award-winning author Margot Livesey is a tale of determination and spirit that, like The Three Weissmanns of Westport and A Thousand Acres, spins an unforgettable new story from threads of our shared, still-living literary past.

“Gemma is real—its as simple as that. And through her eyes we see step by step what it means . . . to take possession of ones own life.” —David Wroblewski, author of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Review

"In The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey offers a new telling of Jane Eyre, for which no contemporary writer is better suited. As always, Livesey's prose is a garden of pleasures: precision here, lyricism there, wit and compassionate insight throughout." Amy Bloom, author of < i=""> Away <> and < i=""> Where the God of Love Hangs Out <>

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"The Flight of Gemma Hardy is an inventive re-imagining of Jane Eyre; the feisty Gemma is a delightful character in her own right, and it was a pleasure to follow her adventures." Marie Claire, "Four New Page-Turners to Keep Bedside"

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"[An] original slant on a classic story.... Within the classic framework, Livesey molds a thoroughly modern character who learns to expect the best of herself and to forgive the missteps of others. The author has a gift for creating atmosphere." Library Journal

Review

"The talented Livesey updates Jane Eyre...taking care to home in on the elements of this classic story that so resonate with readers.... Despite readers' familiarity with the story line, they will be held rapt.... A sure bet for both book clubs and Bronte fans." Booklist

Review

“The portrait of a delicate, iron-willed girl, an orphan and a heroine in the grand tradition…. Here as in all of Liveseys novels, the real treasure is her gift for exploring the unreduced human psyche with all its radiant contradictions, mercurial insights, and desperate generosities.” < b=""> D < k=""> avid <> W < k=""> roblewski <> <> , author of < i=""> The Story of Edgar Sawtelle <>

Review

"The fabulous Margot Livesey has written a book steeped in remote landscapes, secret histories, and great love. Orphan Gemma is a modern day Jane Eyre, thoroughly engaging and bracingly unsentimental. The prose is meticulous, the tale transporting. Trust me, you will love this book." Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club and Wit's End

Review

"Enchanting, from the first page to the last. Reading The Flight of Gemma Hardy reminded me of that way we fall into certain novels when we're younger, with utter absorption and concentration, the outside world disappearing entirely as the spell of a fictional world takes hold." Andrea Barrett, author of Ship Fever and Servants of the Map

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Review

"A cunning adaptation." Liza Nelson, O, the Oprah Magazine

Review

"Appealing...Livesey is drawn to literary gambles, and there's no question that modeling her new book on a classic is a risky move....It's a delight to follow the careful dovetailing of the two novels....Livesey is a lovely, fluid writer." Sarah Towers, New York Times Book Review

Review

"A novel that transports the reader into a gripping, affecting and ultimately healing world....Livesey has created a story of flight, but in that flight, Gemma not only flees but also eventually soars." Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch

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"Enchanting....the beautifully melancholic and wholly transporting story of one courageous girl searching for her place in a changing world." Amy Scribner, Marie Claire

Review

"Evocative....Margot Livesey infuses every sentence of her novel not only with Gemma's quite compelling personality, but also with the details of the world she inhabits.....Her sharply observed, firmly grounded narrative transforms a classic tale into a story - and a place - all its own." Norah Piehl, Bookreporter.com

Review

"Readers...will appreciate Livesey's smooth and lucid prose. She's a fine storyteller who can maintain the antique flavor of her tale with far simpler sentences and an updated vocabulary." Ron Charles, Washington Post Book World

Review

"Scottish-born author Margot Livesey brings the country of her birth to blazing life in the thoroughly winning The Flight of Gemma Hardy. A delicious updating of Jane Eyre to the mid-20th century..." Joy Tipping, Dallas Morning News

Review

"With The Flight of Gemma Hardy, you sense that youo're in the hands of a master storyteller - and that, quite possibly, Brontë herself would have approved." Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times Book Review

Review

“Livesey has pulled off the near-impossible task that the homage begs an author to do: create an original, fresh work that shines in its own light, while bringing an established, esteemed work to the attention of new readers, and showing off previously unseen facets to its fans….” < b=""> M < k=""> eredith <> M < k=""> aran <> <> , < i=""> Boston Globe <>

Review

“Inspired by Jane Eyre, Livesey (The House on Fortune Street) offers vibrant prose and a feisty heroine in her fascinating sixth novel…. Captivating and moving, this book is a wonderful addition to Liveseys body of work.” < b=""> < i=""> Publishers Weekly, starred review <> <>

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Review

“Jane Eyre gets a terrific modern makeover….Livesey works some sort of magic in The Flight of Gemma Hardy, which is too entertaining to be superfluous, too wise in its understanding of human nature to be a mere retread.” < b=""> C < k=""> onnie <> O < k=""> gle <> <> , < i=""> Miami Herald <>

Review

“Livesey follows Brontë‘s form, but so convincingly does she create her own characters life and surroundings that the original soon recedes, its story a beloved, familiar body dressed in an entirely new and vibrant wardrobe.” < b=""> < i=""> Atlantic Monthly <> <>

Review

Synopsis

Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she is both servant and student, young Gemma seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands.

But Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin . . . a journey of passion and betrayal that will lead her to a life she's never dreamed of.

About the Author

Margot Livesey is the acclaimed author of the novels The House on Fortune Street, Banishing Verona, Eva Moves the Furniture, The Missing World, Criminals, and Homework. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Atlantic, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. The House on Fortune Street won the 2009 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Livesey was born in Scotland and grew up on the edge of the Highlands. She lives in the Boston area and is a Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College.